Shares passed $4.50 in morning trading, a gain of more than 20 percent.

Groupon (Nasdaq: GRPN) revealed in its annual report, released Wednesday morning, that it had paid nothing for LivingSocial, which was once valued at several billion dollars.

On an earnings call with analysts, Groupon CEO Rich Williams ⇒ described 2016 as a "year of transition" as the company that got its start as a daily deals site works toward its goal of becoming a daily habit in local e-commerce.

"Today we're about a quarterly habit, which is a lot of running room to get to where we want to be, and our goal in 2017 is to get that moving forward," he said.

Drawing more customers, and getting them to buy more often, will be important areas of focus in 2017, Williams said.

He pointed to customer growth, simplified and streamlined operations, an improved Goods business and "tangible improvements in customer experience," including with a new mobile app released in the fourth quarter, as successes related to the goals he stated when he took over as CEO in late 2015.

Groupon (Nasdaq: GRPN) shares closed at $3.94 Thursday, erasing a year of gains and marking its anniversary down 85 percent since the company's IPO on Nov. 4, 2011.

On that day, as a fast-growing site that resonated with...

On the call, Williams said the company is shifting its emphasis to gross profit moving forward, which he said was "better aligned with (Groupon's) long-term goal of steady profitable growth and free cash flow generation."

As such, Groupon offered guidance in terms of gross profit and adjusted EBITDA, or top-line earnings. It expects gross profit of $1.30 billion to $1.35 billion for the year, compared to $1.36 billion in 2016. The company said the range correlates to a $40 to $90 million increase compared to the 15 countries where it will continue to operate after continuing to shrink its international footprint.

Groupon said it expects adjusted EBITDA of $200 million to $240 million, an increase of $16 to $56 million compared to 2016 in that same footprint.

Williams said Groupon is in 24 countries today after efforts to rein in its international business — down from 48 — and should get down to its goal of 15 by the second quarter of 2017.

Fourth-quarter revenue was $934.9 million, topping consensus estimates of $912.8 million and growing nearly 2 percent compared to the year-ago quarter. Earnings, excluding items, were 7 cents per share, more than the 2 cents per share analysts expected. Groupon posted a net loss of $50.2 million for the quarter, up from $32.6 in the fourth quarter of 2015.

For the year, Groupon's revenue was $3.14 billion, compared to $3.12 billion in 2015. The company said revenue grew 1 percent globally when eliminating foreign exchange fluctuations. It delivered earnings, excluding items, of 4 cents per share. Net loss for the year was $183.3 million, up from $89.2 million in 2015.

Groupon attributed the net loss for the fourth quarter and full year to declines in the "fair value of investments," primarily its stake in Ticket Monster, which it sold for a profit in 2015.

In late October, news of the LivingSocial deal sent the stock down more than 20 percent, to about $4.20 from $5.26, almost immediately.

Since then, shares have continued to trade down, at times dropping below $4. Shares have not approached the $5 mark since October. LivingSocial brought half of the 2 million active customers added in the fourth quarter, Groupon said.

In total, Groupon had about 31 million active customers, or those who have made a purchase in the past 12 months, in North America and nearly 53 million globally in 2016. Customer acquisition will continue to be an area of investment in 2017, Williams said.

From the close of the acquisition on Oct. 31 through the end of 2016, LivingSocial contributed $9.3 million in revenue. It also posted a net loss of $4.3 million for that period, mostly in restructuring and depreciation, a Groupon spokesman said. It broke even on adjusted EBITDA.